Artists & musicians
Books recommended by Austin Kleon
Writer and artist
Author of Steal Like an Artist and Show Your Work!, who writes a weekly newsletter about creativity, reading and notebooks.
On lists:Musicians
Philosophy & how to liveWriting, art & ideasHistoryPsychology & decisionsScience
Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
This is a selection of sourced recommendations, not a complete list of everything Austin Kleon has read or praised. How we choose.
Recommendations
Books Austin Kleon recommends
9 books from 1 source. Each one links to the place where Austin recommended it.
Another year on the (note)books
End-of-year newsletter listing his favourite things from 2024.
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The Waste Books
Year-end favouriteListed under 'the best of the best' in his 2024 favourites.
Another year on the (note)books austinkleon.substack.com
+1 other recommender: Derek Sivers
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The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating
Year-end favouriteListed under 'the best of the best' in his 2024 favourites.
Another year on the (note)books austinkleon.substack.com
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The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper
Year-end favouriteListed under 'the best of the best'; he says it felt written just for him.
Another year on the (note)books austinkleon.substack.com
+1 other recommender: Ryan Holiday
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On Tyranny
Year-end favouriteAmong his favourite non-fiction of 2024.
Another year on the (note)books austinkleon.substack.com
+1 other recommender: Mark Manson
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How to Listen to Jazz
Year-end favouriteAmong his favourite non-fiction of 2024.
Another year on the (note)books austinkleon.substack.com
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A Life of One's Own
Year-end favouriteAmong his favourite non-fiction of 2024 — a 1934 experiment in diary-keeping.
Another year on the (note)books austinkleon.substack.com
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The Inner Game of Tennis
Year-end favouriteListed under 'helpful self-help' in his 2024 favourites.
Another year on the (note)books austinkleon.substack.com
+2 other recommenders: Dickie Bush, Aaron Swartz
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Meditations for Mortals
Year-end favouriteListed under 'helpful self-help' in his 2024 favourites.
Another year on the (note)books austinkleon.substack.com
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The Work of Art
Year-end favouriteListed among his favourite art books of 2024.
Another year on the (note)books austinkleon.substack.com
+1 other recommender: Barack Obama
Cross-recommendations
Picks others agree on
5 books Austin recommends that at least one other person in the directory also recommends, each from their own source.
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3recommendersThe Inner Game of Tennis 3 recommendersAustin Kleon, Dickie Bush, Aaron Swartz
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2recommendersOn Tyranny 2 recommendersAustin Kleon, Mark Manson
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2recommendersThe Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper 2 recommendersRyan Holiday, Austin Kleon
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2recommendersThe Waste Books 2 recommendersDerek Sivers, Austin Kleon
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2recommendersThe Work of Art 2 recommendersBarack Obama, Austin Kleon
Cross-recommendations
Who agrees with Austin
People in the directory who recommended at least one of the same books.
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Ryan Holiday1 book in commonThe Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper
Mark Manson1 book in commonOn Tyranny- DBDickie Bush1 book in commonThe Inner Game of Tennis
Aaron Swartz1 book in commonThe Inner Game of Tennis
Barack Obama1 book in commonThe Work of Art
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